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Matt Williams appointed headcoach of Romania's Timisoara Saracens

Matt Williams

Former Scotland and Leinster headcoach Matt Williams has been appointed as headcoach of the Romanian based Timisoara Saracens.

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Williams takes over from former Springbok great Chester Williams.

Williams was unveiled by the club today and is keen to improve the sides performances in Europe.

Last year the club were fined €30,000 after they were forced to call off their game with Stade Francais due to a frozen pitch – which the EPCR deemed was as the result of negligence on the part of the club.

Timisoara Saracens – who are part of the Saracens network – are one of the powerhouses of the SuperLiga CEC Bank, the first division of Romanian rugby.

The team first won the Romanian top flight championship in 1972, becoming the first club outside Bucharest to do so.

Since the inception of the SuperLiga, Timisoara Saracens have won four titles in six seasons. The team is colloquially known as “Universitatea” Timisoara as it has historical ties with the University of Timisoara.

Saracens will play their Timisoara counterparts on August 25th in friendly at Allianz Park.

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cw 8 hours ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Thanks JW for clarifying your point and totally agree. The ABs are still trying to find their mojo” - that spark of power that binds and defines them. Man the Boks certainly found theirs in Wellington! But I think it cannot be far off for ABs - my comment about two coaches was a bit glib. The key point for me is that they need first a coach or coaches that can unlock that power and for me that starts at getting the set piece right and especially the scrum and second a coach that can simplify the game plans. I am fortified in this view by NBs comment that most of the ABs tries come from the scrum or lineout - this is the structured power game we have been seeing all year. But it cannot work while the scrum is backpeddling. That has to be fixed ASAP if Robertson is going to stick to this formula. I also think it is too late in the cycle to reverse course and revert to a game based on speed and continuity. The second is just as important - keep it simple! Complex movements that require 196 cm 144 kg props to run around like 95kg flankers is never going to work over a sustained period. The 2024 Blues showed what a powerful yet simple formula can do. The 2025 Blues, with Beauden at 10 tried to be more expansive / complicated - and struggled for most of the season.

I also think that the split bench needs to reflect the game they “want” to play not follow some rote formula. For example the ABs impact bench has the biggest front row in the World with two props 195cm / 140 kg plus. But that bulk cannot succeed without the right power based second row (7, 4, 5, 6). That bulk becomes a disadvantage if they don’t have a rock solid base behind them - as both Boks showed at Eden Park and the English in London. Fresh powerful legs need to come on with them - thats why we need a 6-2 bench. And teams with this split can have players focused only on 40 minutes max of super high intensity play. Hence Robertson needs to design his team to accord with these basic physics.



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